Plate positioning means in printing machines



Dec. 26, 1950 F. E. CURTIS 2,535,725

PLATE POSITIONING MEANS IN PRINTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 7, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Dec. 26, 1950 F. E. CURTIS 2,535,725

PLATE POSITIONING MEANS IN PRINTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 7 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 uggz I 2" l D 51 /7 1am. FILE can i 6 EHPLUYEE FILE cqr'r 1470 3742 i 1470 3742 3-l6HS omu. sqsnsomu. 1'c2 am 9 Tea ems JOHN DOE I 7 J THT-TIYQE"'" :410 3142 |47o 3742 EMPLOYEE RECE'IPT 3 l f 66 w 66 c9 49 j 5 J5 5M5: 0v 1 .uma war 5 a ma :3 am: an 54' jg 5+2; own

Patented Dec. 26, 1950 UNITED PLATEPOSITIQNING MEANS IN PRINTING. MACHINES Franklin E. Glirtis; Willoughby; Ohio, assignorto' Addresso'graph Miiltigraph Corporation, Wil mingto'IL DeIJ, acorporation of Delaware Application August '7, 1946. Serial No. 688,823

aoiaimsr (01. 101-497) This invention relates to printing machines and more particularly to printing machines" of the hand operated type.

It is the primary object of my invention to construct a printing machine with whicha com-' plete printed record both of an article issued and the person to whom the article is issited'mayb'e quickly and easily made in a simple operation.

It has long been the custom in stores, libraries; factory tool cribs and the like, tomakeahanm written record of the article sold orche'cked out and the name and address, or other identifica tion, of the person to whom the article wass'o'ld or checked out. This procedurehas nianyinf= herent disadvantages including the disadvantage that such a procedure is relatively slow; Also, such procedure presents considerable opportu nity for human error to creep into the copying of such information, which destroys the accuracy and reliability of such records; advantage also involves a human factor, namely, that records or receipts written by hand are often illegible.

It is an object of my invention to construct a printing machine which overcomes these disadvantages and, in this connection, it is an'ohie'ct' of my invention to construct a printing machine" whereby a printed record of the article sold or checked out, and the customer to whom thaarticle was sold or checked out" may be made" in one simple operation of the machine from a pre viously prepared article-identifying"printing de vice and a previously prepared customer-identi fying device, both of which are inserted into the machine for the single printingoperat'iori.

Another object or my invention is to constructa printingmachine whereby a printed record of an article sold or chccked out and-the custhm-er' to whom the article is sold or checked out may be made without danger of manual copying errors.

A further object of my invention'is to com struct a printing machine of this character which will simply and easily produce a com pletely legible printed record of a sale or' check out transaction. 7

In order that the record cards be properly printed the printing devices must be proper y positioned in the printing machine; and another object of my invention is to so construct a printing'machine that accuracy in positioning of the printing device is assured.

An object ancillary to the foregoing object is to so construct a printing machinetliatg whenprinting devices are associated therewith forme- A' further dis:

purpose of preparing a. record card, improper positioning of the printing devices isreadily apparent so that it may be correctedbefore operating the printing machine. I

Other and further objects of thef p're'sent inven: tion will be apparent from the following descrip tion and claims and-are" illustrated in the accom panying drawings which, by Way of illustrationshow preferred embodiments and the principles thereof and what I nowconsider to be'the best mode in which I havecontemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the iIi-' vention embodying the same or equivalent prim: choice may beused and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the are without departing from the present invention and" the gurview" of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 isatop plan view of a printing machine embodying theprinciplesof iny'iiiventiom Fig. 2 is a sideelevationalview of the machine shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is" a detail View with certain parts broken away, looking down on the anvil portion of thema'chineand showingtwo printingde vices aisfthey wonld be positioned in the when the machine is operated.

Fig. 4. is an illustratioii of'oi'ie type' of record card whichm-ay beprepared with mymachine; Fig. 5 is a detail view of a typical customerid'entiiying printing device used in mymachiiie;

Fig; 6 he detail view of a typical article-idem tifying printing device used in my machine;

Fig. 7 is a detail view similar to-Fig. 3bi1t showing a modifiedforrh'of my machine.

Thep'rinting machine shown in the a ccom panying drawingsembodie'sa casing orloase-Nit mounted on feet or legs ll, and having s de Walls l2'and 131a front wall I4; a rear walll5, 2* top'wall l6 and an open bottom. The walls maybe made of any suitablematerial such as, for

example, cast iron, and the topwall IS -has a- Aninkedrihboir i9 is carried by twcseoe 's rc' and" 2i, and extendsthrough the top wall and acrossthe anvil l8? The spools 2il' and 24 are mdlllnted 011 Shafts 22 8316.13, for rotation smile therewith, and which shafts are journaled in the side walls |2 and I3. Knurled knobs 24 and 25 are mounted on one end of each of the shafts 22 and 23, respectively, and the operator may turn the knurled knobs 24 or 25 to thereby turn the spools 25 and 2| and position a fr-sh, unused portion of the inked ribbon I over the anvil l8 in printing position. Automatic ribbon advancing means may of course be employed if desired. Ribbon guards 25 and 2? are mounted on the upper surface of the top wall It and are secured thereto by screws or bolts 28 and 29, respectively, which extend through respective slots 35 and M in the ribbon guards 25 and 2?. The slots 35 and 32 have enlarged portions formed therein so that by loosening the bolts 28 and 2S and sliding the ribbon guards 26 and 2? to the side until the heads of the bolts are in registration with the enlarged portions of the slots 38 and Si the ribbon guards may be easily removed from the top wall it to facilitate the removal of an old ribbon l9 and the insertion of a new one.

A stamper arm 32 is rockably mounted on a shaft 33 which is journaled in ears 34 which extend upwardly from the rear portions of side walls l2 and 13. The stamper arm 32 is normally spring urged into retracted or raised position, Fig. 2,. by a spring 35 one end of which is attached to a lug or extension 35 on the stamper arm 32, and the other end of which is attached to a pin 31 which is carried by and projects inwardly from the side wall 52.

A platen 38 is carried by the forwardly projecting head 39 of the stamper arm 32 and is so positioned that, by pressing down on the head 39, the operator may move the platen down into printing relation with the anvil it.

A paper guide or marginal guide 45 having a guide arm 4i and a support bracket 42 is mounted on the base and is adjustably secured thereto by a bolt which is carried by and extends outwardly from the wall 43 and extends through a slot 43 in the bracket 42. A knurled knob or nut 44 is threaded on to the bolt which extends through the slot 43 and may be screwed in to hold the bracket 42 in tight frictional engagement with the side wall I3 and thereby hold the marginal guide 45 in adjusted position. The purpose of marginal guide 45, as will be more specifically set forth hereinafter, is to serve as a guide or reference for the proper positioning of a record card, or the like, on which it may be desired to print certain data with my machine.

In the operation of my machine printing devices are placed on top of the anvil l8 below the inked ribbon l9. These printing devices may be previously embossed with the necessary or desired data in any suitable embossing machine such as, for example the machine shown and described in Duncan and Hubbard Letters Patent No. 1,831,103, patented November 10, 1931. When used in my machine, the previousl prepared printing devices are so positioned on the anvil i8 that the face of the printing devices, on which the data to be printed by the printing machine appears in relief, faces upwardly or, in other words, is adjacent to the underneath surface of the inked ribbon l9, and the face of the printing devices, on which the data to be printed by the printing machine appears in intaglio, faces downwardly, or in other words, is adjacent to the upper face of the anvil I8. It will be noted that, inasmuch as the inked ribbon i5 is positioned between the printing devices and the record card upon which the data is to be printed, the data will be printed on the 4 face of the card as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawmgs.

The upper edges and 46 of the anvil l8 extend above the bed thereof and form a closely fitting guideway which engages the edge portion of the printing devices used in my machine. Two pins 41 and 48 extend upwardly from the upper face of the anvil IS in the center portion thereof and are positioned to engage a complementary groove or notch in a properly positioned printing device such as, for example, the grooves 49 and 50 formed in the end edge portions of the printing devices 5| and 52, respectively, Figs. 5 and 6.

It will be noted that in the operation of my printing machine the printing devices 5| and 52 are slid into the channel I! from the opposite ends thereof into position over the anvil IS, The printing device 5|, is properly slid into the channel [1 over the anvil l8 from the left, Fig. l, and is guided by the sides 45 and 45 of the anvil |8 into position where the notch 49 engages the pin 4?, and the printing device 5| is thereby guided into proper registration with the platen 38. The printing device 52 is properly slid into the channel ll over the anvil l8 from the right, Fig. 1, and is guided by the sides 45 and 46 of the anvil l8 into position, where the notch engages the pin 48 and the printing device 52 is thereby also guided into proper registration with the platen 38. When so positioned in my machine the left and right edges, Fig. 3, of the printing devices 5| and 52, respectively, are positioned inwardly of the respective end edges of the channel H.

In this connection, it will be noted that, if the printing devices are inserted into printing relation with the ribbon l9, from the wrong end of the channel IT, or from the proper end of the chan--:

nel I! but wrong end first, the pins 4'] and 43 will not engage in the notches 49 and 53 but will engage the end edges of the printing devices so that the printing devices will protrude from their proper printing position which will be apparent to the operator of the machine. Also it will be noted that if the printing devices 5| and 52 are inserted into the channel I! from the correct ends thereof but are turned over in improper position, this will be readily apparent. Hence, it will be seen that the positioning of the printing devices 5l and 52 may be easily checked visually and any mispositioning thereof is readily detected.

In establishments where my printing machine is to be used such as for example in stores, libraries, or factory tool cribs, an article-identifying printing device (such as the printing device 52) has been previously prepared for each article which is available for sale or checking out and is on file near the machine. Likewise, a customeridentifying printing device (such as the printing device 5|) has been prepared for each customer and is carried on the customers person. When a sale or check-out is made and it is desired to make a record of the transaction, the following simple procedure is followed.

The article-identifying printing device 52 is withdrawn from the files by the attendant or clerk and is properly inserted into the printing machine I 0 from the right side (as viewed in Fig. 1). The customer also presents his customeridentifying printing device 5| to the clerk or attendant and this is properly inserted into the printing machine H! from the left side. The marginal guide rod 4| has previously been properly adjusted for the size record card or sales check to be used, andthe attendant now places the sales check or record-card face down on the inlsedribben l9 with the left, edge portion of thesales check or record card extending toward theright of the machine and: the top edge. of the record card in engagement with the marginal guide M. The attendant thenpresscs the head 35x01. thestamper arm 32 down hand, thereby moving the platen it into. engagement with the record \cardiandpressing the record card, and the inked ribbon ifiagainst both printing devices, 5| and 52 simultaneously and thereby transferring the identifying data from both printing devices 5| and 52 simultaneously onto the record card intone; sing-1e printin operation. The attendant then disposes of the record card or sales check in the usual manner, removes the article-identifying printing device from the machine and returns it to the files, and removes the customeridentifying printing device from the machine and returns it to the customer.

It will be apparent, of course, that, if desired, carbon copies of the sales check or record card may be prepared and simultaneously with the preparation of the original copy thereof.

Also, it will be noted that my printing machine may readily be used for making more complicated sales checks or record cards than the ordinary one-entry record card or sales check most generally used. For example, if, in a tool crib, library, or the like, it is desired to make up a multiple section record card so that one section may be placed in the files under the name of the tool, another section may be placed in the files under the name of the customer, and another section may be issued as a customers receipt, this may easily be done with my machine by preparing a record card or sales check such as the record card 60.

The record card Bil embodies three sections, an article-file section 5|, a customer-file section 62 and an employee receipt section 63. The articlefile section is joined to the customer-file section 62 and the customer receipt section 63 along a perforated line 64. Likewise, the customer-file section 62 is joined to the customer receipt section 63 along a perforated line 65. If desired, the three sections of each record card may have a common identifying serial number 56 (the number being 936 on the card shown in Fig. 4) so that the various sections may be readily identified in the files.

In using this type of record card, the machine is prepared for operation in the manner heretofore discussed, and the record card is placed face down on the inked ribbon IS with the left edge portion extending toward the right of the printing machine (as viewed in Fig. 1) and the top T of the card in engagement with the marginal guide arm 4|, and with the article-file section 6| of the card registered in printing position over the printing devices 5| and 52. The printing operation is then performed by pressing the stamper arm 32 down. The card BI] is then moved to the right until the customer-file section 52 and the customer-receipt section 63 is in regis tration with the printing devices 5| and 52 and the printing operation is again repeated by pressing the stamper arm 32 down.

Hence, from the foregoing it will be noted that my machine may be readily utilized to easily prepare a multiple section record card, one section of which (section Bl) may be filed in the article-identifying file, another section of which (section 62) may be filed in the customer-iden- 6, tifying file; and-the other section of which (sec, tion 63 may be issued to the customer: as a receipt.

A modification of my printing: machineisdlllilstrated in Fi 71. lt will be noted thatim-y machine as: modified inthis manner operates in thetsame manner as the preferred embodiment of my invention, as heretofore.-desc-ribed,; and, therefore; it is believed that a description of the changes in structure, of, the. proposed modification taken together with the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of my invention will be sufiicient to assure a. complete understanding thereof.- Also, it will be noted that in Fig. 7 parts similar to parts shown in Figs. lito 6,. and previously referred to, are indicated by like reference numerals with the prefix 1 added.

In the modified form of my machine a strap member I0 having protuberances or dogs I41 and I48 is mounted on the anvil II! of the machine and the dogs I41 and 148 are positioned so as to engage in notches I49 and I50, respectively,

of printing devices [5| and I52, respectively,

when the printing devices are properly positioned on the anvil Ill.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that by using my machine an accurate, legible and complete printed record of each sale or checkout transaction can be made in one simple and quick printing operation. Also, it will be noted that my machine provides means whereby printing devices may be quickly and accurately positioned in proper printing position in the machine and that improperly positioned printing devices may be readily detected. Furthermore it will be noted that use of my machine eliminates all danger of manual copying errors in the preparation of sales checks and record cards.

Hence, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A printing machine of the type adapted to be used in conjunction with a plurality of printing devices simultaneously, each printing device having a notch formed at a predetermined and different position in one end thereof, said printing machine comprising an anvil adapted to receive such printing devices from respective ends and to support said plurality of said printing devices simultaneously in predetermined printing positions wherein said printing devices are dispos ed within the peripheral boundaries of said anvil, a plurality of abutments mounted on and projecting from said anvil, each of said abutments being disposed in a position to enter the said notch in a corresponding one of said printing devices when said printing device is moved theretoward in predetermined relation to said anvil to thereby permit said printing devices to be disposed in a corresponding one of said printing positions on said anvil, said abutments also being disposed on said anvil in position to engage said printing devices exteriorly of said notches when said printing devices are moved toward said abutments in other than said predetermined relations to said anvil whereby said printing devices will have a portion extending outwardly beyond said anvil to indicate improper positioning, means for supporting a sheet and a platen adapt- 7 8 ed to be moved relative to said anvil to press said UNITED STATES PATENTS sheet into simultaneous printing relation with Numker Name Date such a plurality of printing devices disposed in 3&16'977 Anthony May 29, 1928 sald Prmtmg, f 773,496 Hawkins Oct. 25, 1904 2. The printing machine defined m c1a1m 1 5 939 513 Joslin Nov 9 1909 and in which said abutments are mounted on and 1 005367 1911 project from a single abutment member remov- 1:769:133 Johnson i 1930 ably mwnted 011 said anvil 1,813,495 Johnson July 7: 1931 1,862,528 Dickman June 14, 1932 FRANKLIN CURTIS- 10 2,116,235 Curtis May 193 2,342,898 Sand Feb. 29, 1944 REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS The following references are of record in the Number Country Da e file of this patent: 15 9,064 Great Britain Apr. 9, 1914 

